To start our latest Business Finance Bulletin, we look at how the British Business Bank continues to support small businesses in need of finance. Their 2019 Annual Report sets out how they are improving access to finance in all regions across the UK.

With late payment being an ever-present feature of managing a small business, news from the Prompt Payment Code about membership suspension for a number of high-profile names due to them not adhering to the voluntary payment code.

To close, we review a joint report from the Small Business Commissioner and Growth Street which considers how small business owners see Open Banking. The findings reveal a higher level of awareness and interest than perhaps expected.

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Smaller property developers can find it a challenge when it comes to raising finance. To kickstart the latest Bulletin we look at the initial announcement from the British Business Bank on its ENABLE Build Guarantee which will focus on assisting smaller property developers access finance.

Credit4 is a niche lender supporting small businesses in need of flexible finance solutions. To allow them to back their increasing number of clients, Credit4 has announced it has secured additional funding. Could they fund your growth plans?

To close, our regular review of how the Asset Finance sector is performing. Once again, growth in volumes of HP and Leasing arrangements is beating expectations against the background of flat small business confidence levels.

If you would prefer to listen to the podcast version you can click below or download to listen to later via our Soundcloud, Spotify, Stitcher or itunes channel.

Innovative and high growth firms can find obtaining finance from High Street banks challenging. Ahead of exiting the EU, and to ensure smooth access to finance, the British Business Bank has announced a new fund to help high growth businesses.

A new survey from Barclays Bank has revealed that consumers are searching out firms with eco credentials as part of their buying decision-making. To help businesses being more eco-friendly and take advantage of this change in behaviour, we look at a Green loan product launched by Barclays.

To close this Bulletin, we review the latest quarterly SME Confidence Tracker from Bibby Financial Services. Perhaps not unexpectedly, the figures make gloomy reading but there is a spark of enthusiasm around expectations on sales growth.

If you would prefer to listen to the podcast version you can click below or download to listen to later via our Soundcloud, Spotify, Stitcher or itunes channel.

The Enterprise Finance Guarantee Scheme has been a successful programme to help businesses access finance when they have no security. To open our latest Bulletin, news that ethical lender Robert Owen Community Banking Fund has joined the list of lenders offering access to business finance via EFG.

Following the government’s bailout of RBS in the aftermath of the credit crunch, the first recipients of an RBS-financed £775m fund has been announced. The fund is designed to promote and improve competition in the small business finance market. We look at the first three banks to benefit and their plans.

With Brexit looming, we close with the announcement from UK Finance of a new initiative, ‘Let’s Talk Business’. The campaign is focused on encouraging businesses to engage early with their banks if they are likely to need finance.

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To start our latest Bulletin, a call from the FSB for the Chancellor to take a tough stance on late payment. With the annual Spring Statement a few weeks away, the FSB is seeking three commitments from the government to tackle late payment.

To support small businesses in need of finance, we have news from the British Business Bank that its subsidiary, British Business Investments, has made £20m available to alternative lender Thin Cats. Could you use a slice of that funding?

No Bulletin would be the same without the mention of that ‘B’ word! To close, an announcement from Barclays that is it to hold a series of Brexit Workshops across the UK in March to help business owners plan ahead.

If you would prefer to listen to the podcast version you can click below or download to listen to later via our Soundcloud, Stitcher or itunes channel.

We open our latest Bulletin with a look at findings from the annual Small Business Finance Markets survey carried out by the British Business Bank. The report confirms recent reports that small businesses seem reluctant to borrow with all types of finance options seeing flat or slower growth.

Good news for business owners from mobile-only bank Monzo with the launch of a business account later in the year. Find out how you could be one of 100 business who have a say in shaping the new account.

Finding finance can be a time-consuming task. To help speed up the process the National Association of Commercial Finance Brokers has announced a service to assist businesses source a finance broker in their locality.

If you would prefer to listen to the podcast version you can click below or download to listen to later via our Soundcloud, Stitcher or itunes channel.

We start our latest Bulletin with good news for businesses located in Northern Ireland with the announcement of the launch of the Northern Ireland Growth Finance Fund. With three major contributors including the British Business Bank, the fund will support businesses in the region with growth ambitions.

It’s 12 months since the Small Business Commissioner role was established. With the key focus being on containing late payment and acting as an arbiter between small and larger businesses, what progress has been made in its first year?

Complaints from small businesses about banks are common place, but for many businesses, they have no formal complaint process outside of the bank’s own internal department. We look at news that a voluntary process has been agreed between key UK banks which will help larger SMEs to resolve complaints.

If you would prefer to listen to the podcast version you can click below or download to listen to later via our Soundcloud, Stitcher or itunes channel.

To open this edition, we look at the announcement from Funding Circle, the business peer-to-peer lender, that the British Business Bank is to provide £150m for on-lending to UK small businesses. This second tranche of from the bank is set to support approximately 2,000 businesses.

The latest figures from UK Finance, the banking industry’s trade body, reveals that small business appetite to borrow is still on the wane. The fall in borrowing from the banks has tuned into businesses seemingly hoarding cash with a jump in amount of money held on deposit.

To close, positive news in a recent report by the Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance which points to a continued rise in lending provided by the alternative finance sector. But it’s not only the supply of debt on the rise; equity facilitated by specialist platforms has also seen an increase.

If you would prefer to listen to the podcast version you can click below or download to listen to later via our Soundcloud, Stitcher or itunes channel.

With the traditional year-end slowdown fast approaching, if you haven’t done so already, now is the time to start assessing the impact on your cashflow. How can you avoid hitting a cash crunch?

The British Business Bank has announced support to another niche lender providing Asset Finance facilities to growing businesses. We look at how Compass Business Finance will benefit from being granted access to the Enterprise Finance Guarantee Scheme.

To close, our monthly review of how the Asset Finance sector is performing in terms of finance provided to small businesses. The latest figures from the Finance and Leasing Association reveal a continuing reluctance among businesses to embark upon any significant investment spend.

If you would prefer to listen to the podcast version you can click below or download to listen to later via our Soundcloud, Stitcher or itunes channel.

With the 2018 Budget behind us we open this Bulletin by looking at finance-specific measures. The British Business Bank, the home to the government finance raising schemes, received several boosts from the Chancellor with the aim of securing business access to finance, particularly post-Brexit.

Earlier in 2018 we looked at the launch of Open Banking and how it is going to revolutionise applying for and controlling finances. How useful Open Banking is going to be is highlighted by the announcement from Iwoca that it has agreed a link up with Lloyds which will speed up access to finance.

To close this Bulletin, we review the latest quarterly statistics from the Insolvency Services. The Quarter 3 figures make gloomy reading with the number of businesses entering into an insolvency arrangement reported as on the rise.

If you would prefer to listen to the podcast version you can click below or download to listen to later via our Soundcloud, Stitcher or itunes channel.